The price of electronic devices has continued to decrease dramatically. In addition, the types of consumer electronic components and home automation electronics that can be purchased have continued to increase. For example, DVD players, large screen TVs, multi-carousel CD and DVD players, MP3 players, video game consoles, and similar consumer electronic items have become more widely available while continuing to drop in price.
The decreasing prices and increasing types of consumer electronic components has packed today's homes with modern conveniences. But as these conveniences grow in number and sophistication, they also become more difficult to manage and control. Typical homes may include from three to more than seven remote controls to manage the various electronic devices in the home.
Universal remote controls were developed to attempt to minimize the number of remote controls needed to control all of the electronic devices found in a typical home. However, universal remote controls generally did not allow for control of electronic devices that do not typically come with a remote control, such as fireplaces, window blinds, or other electronic devices.
In recent years, home automation systems have emerged to help manage and control the myriad devices found in modern homes. Home automation systems may allow the homeowner to control nearly all of the electronic devices in the home.
However, while the home automation market continues to grow each year, past solutions typically addressed customers who build high-end custom homes or do major reconstructions on an existing home. Homeowners have generally needed a more affordable way to automate their existing homes without the headache and expense of major remodeling. Additionally, homeowners have typically wanted to be able to add new products over time as they are able to afford additional technology.
Home automation companies have answered the call by utilizing new wireless technologies that have significantly reduced the costs of installing automated devices in older homes as well as newly constructed homes. The desire for control of devices at a particular location is continuing to expand into retail and other non-home markets.
There are many instances in day-to-day life when a machine or device needs to call attention to itself or communicate its' status. Many appliances, for example, include audio or visual alarms to alert or message the consumer. Some examples of appliances that can provide some kind of alert or message are a clothes dryer, a garage door opener, an oven, and a smoke detector. In a large home, these messages originate at the appliance or device and sometimes do not reach the consumer.
In some cases, the message that the device would send does not need to immediately reach the consumer. These messages include those related to maintenance that can be put off for days or weeks. Some examples are requests to change filters or add supplies which are running low. In this situation, the device manufacturer can make a non-intrusive alert such as an indicator light. Alternatively, the manufacturer could make an alert that forces the consumer to take action such as having a periodic loud audio alarm. It would be beneficial if a means existed for the device to send a message about the maintenance need and not have to run the risk of being ignored or of annoying the consumer.
Another problem that exists in home automation is the need for configuration. Many home automation systems require extensive setup. Some of the setup procedures include making decisions about what to do with every communication request or status indication from every device. When a consumer brings a new product home from a store, the device needs to be integrated into the control system in order to provide the highest level of functionality such as the messaging described above. It would be useful to have a system where new devices could automatically connect into the local messaging system where available and require no setup by the consumer.